I started to formally come into contact with seal cutting in the third grade. This is an ancient Chinese art. On the basis of learning calligraphy, I also learned how to transform the art of paper and pen into a more permanent art of knife and stone.
At a younger age than the third grade, the calligraphy teacher allowed us to first come into contact with rubber and use a knife to carve the cartoon patterns we wanted on the soft rubber to improve our hands’ feel for the carving knife.
It wasn’t until I grew up, gained strength in my hands, and reached the required level of calligraphy that I started practicing seal cutting. We will learn the seals of some masters and try to carve them with our own techniques. Maybe we have to think about the characteristics and possible effects of the stone for each cut, and finally we can carve the words we like on the stone. This is a It’s a process of practicing patience, but it’s very stress-relieving.
正式接触篆刻是从三年级开始，这是一门中国的古老艺术，在学习书法的基础上，再去学习如何将纸和笔的艺术，转变为刀和石头的更永久的艺术。
在比三年级更小的年纪，书法老师让我们先接触了橡皮，用刀在柔软的橡皮上刻出自己想要的卡通图案，来熟练手对于刻刀的感觉。
一直到我长大，手有力气了，同时书法也达到要求了，才开始练习篆刻。我们会去学习一些大师的印章，并用自己的手法去尝试雕刻，可能每一刀都要去思考手下这块石头的特性和可能出现的效果，最后能在石头上刻出喜欢的字，这是一个磨练耐性的过程，但是很解压。
